AIR News

In Jammu and Kashmir, a gunfight is underway between militants and security forces in central Kashmirs Budgam district.Deputy Inspector General Police, Central Kashmir Range, Ghulam Hassan Bhat told AIR that the exchange of fire is going on in Pakherpora area of Budgam district.He said so far there was no report of any fatal or non-fatal casualties on either side.

In Rajasthan, a study on the open prison system and parole practices have found that most of the crime happens due to transient impulse and without any planning. The research carried out by criminologist Smita Chakraburtty of the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority recommends that open Jail is the best substitute to take these people back into the mainstream.

Peace talks have begun in Geneva to end the civil war in Syria, but there has been no breakthrough in the standoff between government and rebel forces.UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura met on Tuesday with delegates from the Syrian opposition.

Dutch prosecutors are investigating how a Bosnian Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak managed to take his own life, apperently after drinking poison he had smuggled into a UN court yesterday.Prosecutors said their investigation would focus on what killed Praljak and whether he had received any outside help in obtaining the suspected poison.

Pope Francis who leads the 1.28 billion Catholics around the world is arriving in Dhaka this afternoon on a 3-day visit on the second leg of his Myanmar-Bangladesh tour which began on November 28th. This is the second visit of a Pope, the head of the Vatican State, to Bangladesh, the earlier Pope John Paul VI having visited the country in 1986.

CEO Prasad Bharti, Shashi Shekhar Vempati today said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat is the best example of using a combination of traditional and social media to reach masses. Taking part in a panel discussion held on the usage of traditional and social media held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Summit this morning, he said social media has a tremendous impact on the audience.

The Indian Coast Guard conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise 'Clean Sea' at sea off Port Blair yesterday. The highlight of the exercise was participation of one ICG Pollution Control Vessel and integration of the Indian Coast Guard Dornier/Chetak aircraft into the Oil Spill Disaster Management System for aerial assessment/ delivery of Oil Spill Dispersant for mitigation of the spilled oil.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has banned sand mining in Tamil Nadu.Justice R Mahadevan has directed the state government to close down all sand quarries within the next six months and asked to take measures for the import of sand to meet the requirements.

The depression lying over the South West Bay has intensified into Deep Depression and has moved to the Comorin area and its neighbourhood early this morning.The Meteorology Department has said, the weather system lies some 210 kilometres South and South East of Kanyakumari at present.

Odisha government has released about 365 crore rupees for the rain-hit farmers in 19 districts of the State.The fund was released from the State Disaster Relief Fund to be distributed as agriculture input subsidy among farmers who sustained crop loss due to unseasonal rain during the third week of this month.

The special CBI court in Mumbai, which is conducting the trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati alleged fake encounter cases, has barred the media from reporting the court proceedings until further order. The court took the decision yesterday following a plea from the defence counsel.

In Odisha, a vigilance court in Baripada has awarded 14 months' rigorous imprisonment to Bimal Lochan Das, a former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA and ex-president of the Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd, in a corruption case.Vigilance court special judge also slapped a penalty of one lakh rupees Bimal Lochan Das.

Ecuador's President today called a nationwide referendum that will include a question asking voters whether they want to revoke a law pushed forward by his predecessor allowing Presidents to be indefinitely re-elected. President Lenin Moreno presented two decrees to the National Electoral Council calling for a popular vote that he said is needed to restore the country's constitution, whose values he said have been compromised by "Vices" within the nation's political process.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) was today recognised as a national body by the Indian Olympic Association, which removed the terminated Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) as its affiliate after months of indecision. The BFI, already recognised by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and the Sports Ministry, finally got the IOA's nod, which had IABF registered as the official body till now.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has asked the Chairman of Central Board of Film Certification Prasoon Joshi and Director of Padmavati movie Sanjay Leela Bhansali to appear before it today and present their views on the controversy surrounding the movie. The 30-member committee which has actors and Parliamentarians Paresh Rawal, Hema Malini and Raj Babbar as members will examine the issues relating to the movie.

Libya agreed today with EU and African leaders to allow migrants facing abuse in detention camps to be evacuated within days or weeks.French President Emmanuel Macron said the decision was taken after Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara called for all urgent measures to end slave trading and other migrant abuses in Libya at an EU-Africa summit in Abidjan.